By Guy Page and Dave Soulia
A legislative advisory committee this morning debated ‘softening’ language about landlord’s concerns about just cause eviction.
In response to a worsening housing crisis, homelessness, and skyrocketing, the Legislature’s Landlord-Tenant Law Study Committee has produced a draft of its long-awaited report, dated Dec. 16. The draft report recommends legislation to approve just cause eviction, rent control (AKA ‘stablization), a rental registry, tenant right to counsel, and more funding for housing supports.
Chaired by South Burlington Democrat Emilie Krasnow, other members are Sen. Richard Westman (R-Lamoille), Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (D/P Chittenden Central), Rep. Joseph Parsons (Newbury), and community members, stakeholders and state officials including Nora Aronds, Teri Corsones, Shaun Gilpin, Jean Murray and Angela Zaikowski.
The draft opens with a bullet pointed ‘tenants concerns’ side-side-by-side ‘landlords concerns’ (see graphic). A lengthy discussion was held over this draft recommendation:
“Because landlords will pass additional costs onto tenants, imposing additional costs runs the risk of further decreasing housing affordability.’
In other words: passing laws that make it harder or impossible to evict troublesome tenants will result in higher rent for the non-troublesome tenants.
Nevertheless, some committee members argued that the language should say “some landlords” rather than the inclusive language adopted in the rest of the document. In the end, the language was left unchanged.
Also, Vyhovsky questioned the use of the term ‘rent control.’ She said she preferred the more neutral term ‘rent stabilization.’ In the end, the committee opted for both – ‘rent control/stabilization.’
Westman recommended adding language to create landlord-tenant mediation. The suggestion was adopted by the rest of the committee.
These changes and others will included the final draft, which is likely to be approved by the committee and sent to the rest of the Legislature for consideration.
Report glosses over state’s own role in unaffordable housing – Ostensibly created to provide solutions to the challenges landlords and tenants face, the report devotes considerable attention to tenant protections while largely glossing over the structural issues driving housing unaffordability in Vermont. Most strikingly, it fails to critically examine the role of the state of Vermont itself in creating and perpetuating this crisis—a glaring omission given that the state commissioned this very report.
This report appears to embody the adage: “You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” One aspect of reality ignored in Vermont’s housing crisis is that state-imposed regulations, taxes, fees, and building regulations increase rental occupancy and construction costs. These costs inevitably bubble down to renters, who feel the brunt of high property taxes passed along as rising rents, even if they don’t receive the bill directly.
Also, the report acknowledges that Vermont’s aging housing stock and rising construction costs exacerbate the crisis but avoids asking why these costs are so high.
The answer lies, at least in part, in state policies and excessive government spending. Vermont’s permitting processes, such as those governed by Act 250, impose significant delays and costs on housing development. Property taxes—some of the highest in the country—are driven by the state’s relentless spending growth. Landlords, forced to cover these escalating costs, have no choice but to pass them along to renters.
While tenants may believe landlords are the source of high rents—an idea encouraged by some politicians – it is also true that Vermont’s property tax system and regulatory burdens are major drivers. Yet, this cause is little-discussed in the report.
Parts of this news story were sourced from an article appearing today in Dave Soulia’s FYIVT.com.